CS 255 Syllabus

(Winter 2000)

This course is an introduction to the basic
theory and practice of cryptographic techniques used in computer
security. The course is intended for advanced undergraduates and
graduate students.

The following is a tentative list of topics. Next to each
topic we list some related readings in the textbooks. R31-34
means pages 31 to 34 in Stinson's Red book
and W45-49
means pages 45 to 49 in Stallings Blue book.Note: Students are responsible for all
the material covered during the lectures. The textbooks do not cover
everything said in class.

Topics - tentative

Introduction

History. Overview of cryptography. Attack models. R1-13,
S1-10.

Secret Key Encryption

Information theoretic security. One time pad.
Unbreakability of one time pad.
How to break a one time
pad. Stream ciphers. R44-51,
R20-24.